


Father's Day Prompt: Mugs and Memories

by Mor_Elenar



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:00:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24674269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mor_Elenar/pseuds/Mor_Elenar
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4
Collections: June 1xR Father’s Day Challenge!





	Father's Day Prompt: Mugs and Memories

Waking up tired is one of the most draining of experiences, and when Relena woke, she felt like she’d been running a marathon for the past eight hours rather than sleeping. She dragged herself from the tiny twin bed and made her way from the loft to the front sitting room of the cabin to where Quatre was seated, seemingly waiting for her.

“I didn’t expect to see you up so soon!” he said cheerily. “I already have a pot of coffee brewed up, but if you’d like, I can make you some tea as well.”

“Um…” Relena squinted at him not entirely awake. “Coffee is fine,” she finally managed, sitting across the table from him. “Has Heero called? How long do I have to stay here?”

This was the fourth death threat they’d gotten about Relena in a month. All from different terrorist groups, all different types of threats and demands. The first was ignored, the second Heero insisted that extra guards and security be in place, after the third she was no longer permitted to travel and after the fourth, Heero and his team insisted she be relocated to a safe house until the threats could either be neutralized or at the very least, thwarted. The cabin in the middle of nowhere had already been prepped in case of an emergency relocation: she didn’t even have to pack a bag as clothes and some of her household belongings had already been neatly stashed away for just such an occasion. 

“Heero called this morning to make sure your security detail was doing their patrols. He hasn’t said anything else or about how long you’ll be here. You holding up alright? Are you sure you don’t want tea instead?”

She couldn’t help but smile: he was all help and sweetness.

“I’m fine, Quatre, and I’m sure I’ll have coffee. Black. I need to wake up.”

“Okay. Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

He stood and disappeared into the kitchen behind her, leaving her a few more moments to wake up and take stock of her surroundings.

To be honest, she enjoyed the break. This was the first morning in months she didn’t have to rise early enough to get her hair done and her best professional attire on to go to meetings that had no real outcomes anyway. Politics were hard enough, but her youth and even sometimes her gender were held against her as she tried to enact trade agreements, peace pacts, and introduce reforms that would solve the socioeconomic inequality of the colonies. Here, she could sleep in; here, she didn’t have to dress up: Quatre had seen her in her pajamas and he didn’t even care. Here, she could be tired, be herself. There was no pressure to do anything but let the guards keep her from getting harmed, something she was easily used to. Now if only she could get Heero to join her on her spontaneous vacation…

“Here we go!” Quatre said, setting down a mug in front of her, the scent of expensive Arabian coffee filling her nostrils. He sat opposite her again with a mug of his own and began sipping his immediately.

The handle on the mug was enormous, allowing her to slip her hand all the way up to the thumb inside it and let the heat radiate through the mug into her hands. Steam lifted off the surface and the smell was delightful, though she knew it would still be too hot to drink for a minute or two. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the maroon colored mug looked familiar, but it took a solid minute for her to remember where she’d seen it before.

She had a memory of her dad drinking coffee out of this mug (or at least an identical one) on the rare occasions that he was home on a weekend. He’d always get up early and brew coffee for himself and her mom and even sometimes cook breakfast for the three of them. It was one of the only memories she had of them behaving like the families she saw on TV that sat around a table eating breakfast together.

It was the moments like those quiet mornings together that helped her through his long trips, that reassured her that her father loved her and that if she could just make it a few more days, he’d be home again and back in his warm embrace. That even if he was on the other side of the world or even in space his heart was home with his wife and little girl.

“Everything all right?” Quatre asked, bringing her back to reality. His almost teal eyes studied her intently, his brows furrowed in concern: she must have zoned out of a long time.

“Oh, I was just thinking about my dad He had a mug exactly like this. I guess it made me think of him,” she said, finally taking a drink.

“Your biological father or Mr. Darlian?”

“Darlian,” Relena said, gripping the mug tighter, trying to warm her cold fingers. “The Peacecrafts drank out of fancy china and ate off silver plates, not something nearly this plain. It feels so surreal being called a Peacecraft, especially when the old people of the Sanc Kingdom come up and tell me things like how much I look like my mother or of some great kindness my father did and I can only think to myself: my dad wasn’t a king, he was Vice Foreign Minister. I acknowledge my lineage, but I’ll always think of him as dad and Mareen as my mom.”

“You miss him?”

Maybe it was the question, maybe it was the innocence in his voice, maybe it was the flooding memories, or maybe it was just a combination of all three, Relena found herself blinking back tears. She was hardly one to lose her composure and after only a moment of being overcome by her emotions was able to recover and answer him.

“Yes. Sometimes so much it’s painful”

Quatre nodded. “I miss my dad too.”


End file.
